Date of Graduation
1998
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to construct an African Music and Dance Interdisciplinary Curriculum for American Middle Schools. Questions addressed while developing this Multicultural Music Education Curriculum model are: the philosophy underlying multicultural music education in the United States; the type of knowledge gained through multicultural music education; how this knowledge can be made relevant to the middle school student, teacher, parents, and the larger society; ways of integrating African music into multicultural music education programs in American middle schools; support needed for teachers who teach African music in American middle school classrooms; and how the knowledge gained through the study of African music can be evaluated to ascertain its validity and usefulness. In developing this African Music Curriculum model, the present state of multicultural music education in America, with particular reference to the work of the Music Educators National Conference, professional documents from seminars and conferences on multicultural music education, books, periodicals and research reports, were gathered and reviewed. Then, the literature on philosophical foundations of curriculum development from the perspectives of social constructivism, phenomenology, experimentalism, and developmentalism, African music as subject matter, the African society, and the middle school learner were discussed. Tyler's rationale formed the organizational structure for the overall curriculum. The curriculum model included purposes of the African music and dance as part of music education programs in American middle schools, Educational Experiences, Organization of Educational Experiences, Evaluation Procedures, and a Teaching Unit using B[open o]b[open o][open o]b[open o], a Social music and Dance of the E[upsilon]edomeawo of Ghana, and was based on individual needs, interests, and capabilities of the American middle school learner. The content of the B[open o]b[open o][open o]b[open o] unit was focused on four areas: Appreciation Activities, Drumming Activities, Singing Activities, and Movement and Dance Activities. The instructional and learning activities incorporate a variety of audio and visual materials. The need to realize individual differences among the learners gave room for variety of learning activities, learning materials and evaluation procedures.
Recommended Citation
Younge, Paschal Yao, "Enhancing global understanding through traditional African music and dance: A multicultural African music curriculum for American middle schools." (1998). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 10084.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10084